What I Actually Carry Hiking or going anywhere, My EDC

 

I'm probably controversial on this one. I prefer tech, because I use tech today. It works if you take the time to learn and choose your tech wisely.

My primary navigation is my Apple watch and my phone with offline maps. I've been plenty of places with no cell service, which is exactly why I download the maps ahead of time. The GPS still works just fine without cell service. I also carry a small folding 10-watt solar charger in every single pack. I even take the damned thing to Disney. Yes, I have sat there eating a Mickey-shaped cookie with a solar panel unfolded next to me charging somebody's phone. Usually not mine. I don't go on a hike or excursion without my phone and watch charged. The number of times I've saved somebody else with either my USB battery or solar panel is nuts.

People, charge your phone.

"Oh, I went on this hike and thought 9% battery would be enough."

Why? In modern society your phone is probably the single most important piece of EDC you have. It's communication, navigation, information, weather, maps, emergency contact, flashlight, camera, all in one thing that you were going to carry anyway.

How Much I Carry Depends on the Weather

How light I pack depends heavily on how hot it is. If it's 104°F with approximately 500% humidity, I try not to carry a pack at all. I'll switch to a runner's belt that can hold a large water bottle and the essentials because I get annoyed carrying extra crap almost immediately.

Rain gear is either a proper nylon parka or the garbage-bag emergency parka. If I'm carrying the good parka, I still carry the garbage-bag one. I'm one of those radicalized Boy Scouts who still has "Be Prepared" rattling around in his head somewhere. The cheap one isn't really for me. It's for somebody else. I've had to give those away more times than I ever expected. I was on a freaking four-mile hike up in the sand dunes along Lake Michigan once and ran across a tourist in a rainstorm who had absolutely nothing.

Like, really?

I pointed them toward the nearest fire road and actual trail, which, again, phone wins here, then handed them the garbage-bag parka.

Food, Water, and the Important Stuff Nobody Talks About

Food is usually a non-chocolate candy bar or granola bar. I prefer something high in fiber because one of the more miserable experiences on a very long hike is needing to shit and not being able to. Which brings me to one of the most important pieces of expensive high-tech wilderness survival equipment I carry.

Compressed pill-shaped paper towels.

I throw a couple into a little ziplock bag and then use a heat sealer to make a sealed pouch. Humidity will make the things expand, so seal them well. Nothing beats having something available to actually wipe your ass in the woods. Or clean your face. Sure. That too.

I also carry a cheap pair of thin mechanic's or work gloves. I don't expect to use them. They're there because they weigh almost nothing and there are plenty of situations where I'd rather not grab something with my bare hands. For longer hikes, I'll throw extra water into the pack in disposable bottles. That's another item I've ended up giving away to the same sort of person who thought going four miles into the wilderness carrying absolutely nothing was a solid plan.

Do I Carry Emergency Shelter?

No.

I have no desire to huddle under a tarp for three days pretending I'm on Alone.

More importantly, there is basically zero chance of me getting trapped deep in untouched wilderness because I don't go blazing trails across untouched wilderness. That's stupid, and if you actually care about land conservation, you shouldn't be doing it anyway. I know where I am. I know where the trails are. I know where the roads are. I know where the nearby shelters and structures are, and I've usually marked anything useful on my phone before I leave.

Even if something ridiculous happens, I can get back to the car, a road, a ranger station, a shelter, or somewhere useful.

"But What If Your Phone Gets Destroyed?"

I've been asked this one.

"What if your phone gets destroyed?"

I get it. Maybe I drop the phone and then accidentally stomp on it until the screen is completely unreadable. Happens all the time, oh crap it just happened here again...  dang that happens all the time!

That's where the watch comes in. It has GPS and waypoints.

It also doesn't have to be a specific brand like Garmin. Apple Watch, Android/Wear OS watches, and plenty of other modern watches can provide some form of offline navigation or GPS capability. Learn how yours works before you need it. Oh and no you dont need the $2200 Army special forces tactical edition one that has an infrared mode for use with night vision.  Does it look badass? yes.  do you need it? no.  You also dont need your phone in a flip down molle attachment to your chest plate. 

Usually at this point somebody asks, "Well, what if the watch falls off and gets stomped on 30 or 40 times too?"

That's usually when I walk away from the conversation.

I don't plan for every imaginable silly unrealistic "what if." I plan for reality.

The world is probably not going to end while I'm on my hike. I don't plan for that. I'm not going to get surprised by a sudden blizzard, and a Category 5 hurricane isn't going to materialize from a clear sky halfway through lunch.

Same thing with severe thunderstorms and other weather.

Why?

Because I check conditons before I go do things.  I know right?  What kind of wierdo does that?

Preparation isn't carrying 60 pounds of equipment because technically something could happen. A lot of preparation happens before you ever leave the house.

First Aid

I almost forgot first aid.

I have a small red pouch with several good cloth Band-Aids, preferably the ones with antibiotic ointment already on the pad. There are some wipes for cleaning wounds and random little packets of painkillers I've raided out of work first-aid kits over the years.I also carry my cheap Leatherman knockoff. That gives me tweezers, a knife, pliers, and a handful of other little tools. Yes stored in the First aid kit. Thats where it actually belongs.

Actually, thinking about this reminded me of something I need to put back in there: a couple rolls of Smarties.

I've run across people on hikes who were diabetic and having a blood sugar crash, so having some fast sugar available is one of those tiny things that can be useful. Smarties work well for the pack because they're basically pressed powder candy. Keep them sealed in a dry baggie and they'll survive the heat and a year or two forgotten in the bottom of the pack. Hard candy eventually turns into a sticky blob of goo.

Mine currently doesn't have any.

I think I ate them after too much beer at Epcot when I suddenly remembered, "Hey, I have candy." So apparently I need to restock the medical supplies. That's basically the extent of my first-aid kit. I can't set bones. I don't carry a stretcher. I don't have a field surgery kit so I can remove somebody's appendix beside the trail. If somebody gets seriously hurt, that's what the phone is for. The first-aid kit handles the things I can realistically handle myself. Cuts, scrapes, splinters, headaches, minor injuries, and the usual stupid stuff that happens outdoors.

And No, I Don't Carry a Gun Everywhere

I'm also apparently one of those really freaking weird Americans who doesn't carry a gun 24/7/365.

First, anybody who has actually carried one knows it's annoying as hell.

If you're a responsible gun owner, you're constantly aware of where it is and whether it's secure. A holster catches on every damned thing including sling pack straps. Appendix carry is just uncomfortable. Yes, it's uncomfortable. Anybody telling you otherwise is probably trying to justify why they carry all the time.   

More importantly, I really don't have much need to shoot things while hiking or out and about.

In Michigan, one of my bigger concerns on state land was freaking hunters, not bears or cougars. In Florida, if you have more than about 15 functioning brain cells, alligators aren't much of a danger while hiking. Don't wander along the edge of the water like an idiot, and especially don't walk what amounts to gator bait on a leash along the shoreline. Wild boar are a legitimate concern here, but I'm also not convinced a pistol improves that particular situation. Those things are incredibly tough, and turning an angry wild pig into a slightly more angry wild pig isn't high on my list of wilderness survival strategies. Biggest danger at Disney is the cougars, but I'm far too old to get their attention as they stalk younger prey.

So no gun. 

Apparently I Carry "Almost Nothing"

That's the funny part.

Most people who are really into EDC and survival equipment would probably look at what I carry and say I have almost nothing. Phone. Watch. Water. A little food. Small battery. Solar panel. Basic rain protection. Tiny first-aid kit. Multitool. Gloves. A couple of compressed towels.

That's about it.

But compared to some of the normal people I've run across on trails, people I've handed water to, given rain gear to, charged phones for, or pointed back toward civilization, apparently I'm a walking hardware store.

I don't pack for the apocalypse that will never happen.

I pack for the hike or park I'm actually going to, the conditions I'm actually going to encounter, and a little extra for the person who thought 9% battery and half a bottle of Mountain Dew was adequate preparation for four miles in the woods.